Some of your minds may’ve automatically connected this title to the Notebook when Noah begs: “what do you want?” He’s asking in an attempt to get Allie to reveal her true feelings about him and expose her excuses. So that’s what I’m asking in a non-romantic but equally fervent way about our Christian communities. What is our actual desire in community with other believers? Is what we claim to want in communities what we strive to live out?
Laying the foundation, let’s start with the purpose of community—the purpose of the Church. (I will use community and capital “C”, Church interchangeably because both note a group of believers in Christ). Our goal is to make known the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. We were tasked with a mission in Matthew 28 to “make disciples and baptize them”. Both of these actions we are tasked to complete require more than just you and God. Our walk with God is one of relation to Him and to others.
We need the Church to accomplish the calling we have received to spread the good news of salvation to all who believe: we witness this in our everyday lives as our respective smaller communities—bible studies, small groups, discipleship groups, etc.—live out the mission of the global Church.
In this post, my goal is to expose a few misled expectations of community in light of what scripture has to say about them, freeing us to delight in the gift of community, and adopting Christ’s vision of the Church as our own.
Unity of Mind
If we were honest with ourselves, we would go into our communities filled with slightly varied versions of us; they would respond the way we expect and support our perspective inherently.
We like the concept of diversity until it makes us feel uncomfortable. When varying opinions on what a passage of the bible means or how to approach a situation comes into a discussion, it can make the room feel a little uneasy. People may glance back and forth to see how we will move forward.
Or maybe someone in your community seems to be a complete other from where you stand: politically, socially, ethnically, etc. Maybe it’s you that feels totally other. Finding common ground in relating may prove to frustrate you more than encourage you about God’s design for community.
But in our unique perspectives and backgrounds, there is a margin for God’s glory to be magnified: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or are absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” Philippians 1:27
Paul reminds them that living in light of the gospel means we stand firm in one spirit, the Holy Spirit. We will strive together in one mind fully convinced that the gospel of Christ is demonstrated through our unified love for one another.
We may see differently on many issues, but if we have the gospel of Christ in common, we have the key to unity between us. The power of Christ is on display when a group of individuals that have different backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures are brought into unity only by his might.
Even in Ephesians, Paul reminds the Church to “be diligent to preserve unity”(4:3). In other words, it will require diligence, earnestness, and dedication to do this. It WILL be difficult; but the result is a body of believers firmly convinced they are in the ministry of reconciliation together. This is the kind of community that shines brilliantly in contrast to a splintered world.
Vulnerability
Many of our ideal community pictures, may never take place in any other season but spring: a fresh start, new life, warmth and the return of sunshine. We show up with new exciting news about opportunities, restoration, and new beginnings. But we live in a world of seasons. There’s the winter when we feel the weight of loss or the irritating impatience for the spring we long for desperately. There’s autumn when change is visible and tangible: maybe pleasant, maybe not. There’s a summer of sweet freedom and a time of adventure. The same kind of times and seasons occur in relating to the Lord. And we don’t experience these synchronized or in any order. I may be experiencing a huge time of sadness and loss while the girl who sits next to me may be overjoyed at how a new opportunity just sprung up.
We must know how to relate to each other without feeling the need to conform to a springtime façade. Some of us have never even shared our struggles with our closest community because we don’t want to appear weak in faith or “damper” the time together. This impulse is contrary to the purpose of Christian community.
We will ALL see times of strife and hardship, but as a community we have the purpose of loving and encouraging one another with God’s Word. In fact, when Scripture describes suffering, often times, we receive the encouragement as a collective. “We” and “us” are used because we have the joy of suffering alongside one another.
In our weakness, in our trials, and in our fight against sin, we have a community of believers who can speak the truth of God’s Word into our situation (1 Thessalonians 5:14). And that may mean entering into an uncomfortable circumstance in order to love someone well. Or even more difficult, allowing someone else to enter into your uncomfortable circumstance so they can love you well. Through vulnerability and humility, we will see lives of believers around us transform as strongholds of sin fall and huge risks of obedience are taken.
Overall, we share a mission, a calling, a Spirit, and these unite us beyond any division of the flesh. By our love for one another that transcends any earthly dividers, the world will know we are Christ’s disciples (John 13:34-35). This community is a gift to us. While imperfect, our Church is the bride of Christ and bought with a price. We have the honor and ministry of declaring Jesus’ victory over a lost world and repeatedly over each other as well.
Erin is a junior at Florida State studying Communications and EWM (Editing, Writing, and Media). She’s a Navigator, 1w2 on the enneagram, and a lover of dirty chais. She has a passion for witnessing people find their truest joy in knowing Jesus Christ just as she as. Her goal for this year is to be a woman committed to God’s Word: meditating on it, memorizing it, speaking it, and cherishing it.
Scripture References:
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:3
“And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
1 Thessalonians 5:14
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2